004 - Civil Society and Corporate Strategies
Geographic Knowledge and Understanding
Civil society and corporate strategies to address global climate change.
Concepts
Companies and civil societies hold the power to mitigate global climate change.
Aims
To have knowledge and understanding of how civil society groups can mitigate global climate change.
To have knowledge and understanding of how corporations can mitigate global climate change.
Case Study
Case study of the response to climate change in one country focusing on the actions of non-governmental stakeholders.
Key Terminology
Civil Society
Define the term above by using the 'Useful Link' below.
Useful Link
Activity One - Mind Mapping - Companies
To explore the ways in which civil society groups and corporations have developed strategies to address global climate change we are going to go old school and get out A3 plain paper and the coloured pens. We are going to focus on England as our case study and use some very English institutions to find out what companies and the every day person are doing to raise awareness of climate change and/or reduce our impact.
For our companies we are going to look at Marks and Spencers - which is an English department store which opened in 1884. It was actually started by a Polish migrant and a local lad from Skipton, Yorkshire - global interactions at its finest! The other company is Boots Ltd which is a pharmacist which opened in 1849. It initially started as a family run herbal medicine shop in Nottingham and is now somewhere where you now pick up a medical prescription, get your eyes and ears tested and pick up the latest lipstick from Chanel. It is now a subsidiary company of Walgreens.
Using the resources below mind map how the two companies are showing how they are actively responding to the issues of global climate change. Use the Geography Concepts to help you to organise your thoughts.
Place - Where, who and what scale?
Process - What are they doing? Describe what the companies are aiming to do.
Power - Has there been any successes?
Possibility - What are they hoping to achieve in the future?
Marks and Spencer
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Marks and Spencers Plan A
Marks and Spencers Plan A Brief Outline
Marks and Spencers - Plan A - choose one of the three focus areas at the bottom to look at in a little more depth
Marks and Spencer - Plan A 2025 - if you want more detail (optional read)
Activity Two - Mind Mapping - Civil Societies
You are now going to go through the same process as activity one but the focus this time is going to be on two English civil society groups. We are going to focus on the English branch of GreenPeace and the very British Institution of the Women's Institute.
GreenPeace was formed in 1971 by a Canadian and US activist with the aim that the Earth should nurture its life and diversity. By the lat 1970s there were over 15 GreenPeace groups across the world. They have moved away from the marginal company of their early years to being an influential global civil society group. The Women's Institute was set up in 1915 to educate the rural women of Wales and to get them involved in the growing and preservation of food. Today the Women's Institute is recognised as an organisation that has quietly changing the UK.
Exam Style Question
'The power to effect change is in the hands of the masses not the few.' To what extent do you agree with this statement? [10 marks]